Miscellaneous News

Temstar said:

It's because Shein dares to put a physical store were all the other fancy brands are, and it's turning out to be very popular with the people judging from the long lines they're having.

This isn't about just Shein, this is about being about to define beauty/what's trendy. Being able to define beauty gives you the right to charge a large premium on luxury goods, that's what brands like LV/Chanel/Prada do and how they make the big money. You can see here that Shein making physical inroad into their home tuff means now someone else could be holding the power to define beauty and that rightfully upsets them, but all is fair in love and war.

If you want an example of a Chinese brand that has successfully gained the right to define beauty I would point to no other than Pop Mart and their Labubu which is commanding a very high premium for a soft toy. Shein is basically trying to do something similar and rug pull the old money brands in Paris.

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Senate Democrats cave, open path to reopening government​

The Senate took a massive step forward on its way to reopening the government on Sunday, with a group of Senate Democrats caving and joining Republicans in their bid to pass a revamped plan to end the shutdown.

Signs that the shutdown, which entered its 40th day, could be ending became more and more clear as the day went on, particularly with the unveiling of a bipartisan package of spending bills that lawmakers hope to attach to a modified bill to reopen the government.

Eight Senate Democrats crossed the aisle to mark the first step in the GOP’s quest to end the shutdown. Many of the lawmakers that splintered from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., were among those engaged in bipartisan talks over the last several weeks.

Among the defectors were Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, John Fetterman, D-Pa., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Jacky Rosen, D-N.M., Tim Kaine, D-Va., and the number two Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

"The question was, does the shutdown further the goal of achieving some needed support for the extension of the tax credits? Our judgment was that it will not," King said. "It would not produce that result. And the evidence for that is almost seven weeks of fruitless attempts to make that happen."

Schumer and Senate Democrats long stayed the course that they would only vote to reopen the government in exchange for a solid deal on extending expiring Obamacare subsidies.

But the solution developed over the last several days included nothing of the sort. While there were some wins in the updated continuing resolution (CR), like reversals of some of the firings of furloughed workers undertaken by the Trump administration and guaranteeing back pay for furloughed workers, there was no guaranteed victory in sight on the Obamacare issue.

That means that Senate Democrats effectively caved with little to show for their healthcare push, save for the guarantee of a vote on the subsidies from Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., which was reflected in the updated CR.

Schumer panned the compromise deal, and charged that when Republicans rejected Democrats' own counter-proposal that would have extended the expiring subsidies for a year, "They showed that they are against any health care reform."

"This healthcare crisis is so severe, so urgent, so devastating for families back home that I cannot, in good faith, support this CR that fails to address the healthcare crisis," Schumer said.

Thune was optimistic that the plan would work, and reiterated his promise of a vote on the expiring subsidies. However, whatever legislation is produced to address the Obamacare issue is likely to fail.

"Regardless, as I have said for weeks to my Democrat friends, I will schedule a vote on their proposal, and I've committed to having that vote no later than second week in December," he said.

Progressives in the caucus were unhappy with the developments, too.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, charged that it would be a "horrific mistake" for Democrats to cave now without an Obamacare deal.

"If Democrats cave on this issue, what it will say to Donald Trump is that he has a green light to go forward toward authoritarianism," Sanders said. "And I think that would be a tragedy for this country."

Still, there is a long way to go before the government officially reopens.

Sunday’s vote was the first in a series needed in the Senate to modify the original House-passed continuing resolution and combine it with the three-bill spending package and updated CR, which, if passed, would reopen the government until Jan. 30, 2026.

Lawmakers hope that if given the extra time, they could finish funding the government with spending bills rather than turning to another CR or colossal omnibus spending package, which crams all 12 government funding bills into one piece of legislation.

"If we blow this window, we’re going to get stuck with a yearlong CR," Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said.

And the shutdown won’t end in the Senate, given that the changes to the legislation will need to be greenlit by the House before making it to President Donald Trump’s desk.

Democrats could still extract pain through procedural hurdles unless there is unanimous agreement from all 100 senators to move forward with the remaining votes.

The Obamacare issue is still bubbling on both sides of the aisle, however. Senate Republicans slammed the state of healthcare throughout Saturday, particularly over how the subsidies funneled money to insurance companies

Democrats still remained skeptical if their frustration, and desire to make changes to take on insurance companies, was legitimate.

"The point, I think that's really relevant here, is if they're serious, and I really question whether that's the case," Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said.

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BoraTas said:

MAGA: Rail is for peasants we just fly

America under emperor Trump:

View attachment 164272

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Randomuser said:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1987636277831733510

Yeah... I kinda knew it was gonna be like this...lol

Better savev this video before they try to take it down.

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9dashline said:

China is killing off samsung, kia, etc let them vent a little its their own country... i mean US colony

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Nevermore said:

Hello, I'm very interested in changes to India's fertility rate, but this article isn't available for free reading. So does this article acknowledge that India's fertility rate has fallen to 1.9?

I believe the key factor for China to avoid conflict with a rising India in the mid-to-late part of this century lies in India's fertility rate plummeting to extremely low levels before completing its industrialization. This would subsequently lead to severe aging, causing the nation's development trajectory to resemble that of certain Latin American countries. By that time, Indian society would be far from matching China's educational standards and manufacturing capabilities, effectively ending India's aspirations to become a superpower.

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wuguanhui said:

Koreans used to be a lot more anti American and anti Japanese. I suspect a lot of the anti China sentiment was deliberately promoted in order to make Koreans more obedient to American hegemony.

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AssassinsMace said:

Yes anytime you find out the US has been doing this, all they have to do is accuse China is doing to take attention off the US. Look at how they accused of China of cyber warfare where the US said it would be an act of war if China did it. Then Stuxnet came out used against Iran... The whole kill switch thing is because remember that was accused of what the US can do for any other country that had F-35s. And now China is doing it everywhere. Also there was talk of the US making it a law that automakers had to put a kill switch on cars so that police can stop high speed chases by criminals looking to escape and endangering innocent people's lives.

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